Mortgage applications skyrocket more than 25%

Big pre-TRID rush boosted final week of September

After a summer of subdued or declining activity, mortgage applications increased 25.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 2, 2015.

The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 25.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 26% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 24% from the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 27% from one week earlier. The unadjusted purchase index increased 27% compared with the previous week and was 49% higher than the same week one year ago.

“The number of applications for purchase and refinance mortgages soared last week due both to renewed rate volatility and as many applications were filed prior to the TILA-RESPA regulatory change. The average loan size of applications in the weekly survey increased by 6.9%, driven by a 12.1% increase in the average size of refinances,” said Lynn Fisher, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 57.4% of total applications from 58.0% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.6% of total applications.

The Federal Housing Administration share of total applications decreased to 12.7% from 13.8% the week prior. The Veterans Affairs share of total applications decreased to 9.2% from 10.3% the week prior. The Department of Agriculture share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.7% the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.99%, the lowest level since May 2015, from 4.08%, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.89%, the lowest level since April 2015, from 3.96%, with points decreasing to 0.25 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.80%, the lowest level since May 2015, from 3.87%, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.24%, the lowest level since May 2015, from 3.29%, with points decreasing to 0.38 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.96% from 2.95%, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

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Trey Garrison was a Senior Financial Reporter for HousingWire.com. Trey served as real estate editor for the Dallas Business Journal, and was one of the founding editors of D CEO Magazine. He has been an editor for D Magazine — considered among the best city magazines in the United States — and a contributor for Reason magazine.

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